Chapter Two

While drinking a strong beverage she seemed to crave these days, Asajj Ventress felt a dark presence through the Force. She recognized immediately that it was Savage since she had felt it before she heard he was wanted by the Separatists for the treason she made him conduct against Dooku. Her friend Latts Razzi tried to consul her and ask what was wrong to which Asajj answered that Savage was still on the loose. "I have to go after him again and no one can stop me from doing so, I'm the only one who stands a chance of stopping him and his brother," Asajj said.

"Last time you fought them, you and Kenobi were both outmatched by them and Savage had you on the run at more than one point in the duel. You sure you don't want someone else to do this?" Latts asked. "I am sure that no one else would stand against him or Maul for as long as Kenobi and I did, let alone beat them in single combat," Asajj answered. "Then I guess this means you want me out of this again, don't you?" Latts rhetorically and grimly asked her.

"I am sorry my friend but you're right, this time I don't know if I'll return though. If I do, I'll ask you to meet me here immediately but until then, take any assignment that gets us enough credits to keep up with the tab and I will pay you back with Kenobi's credits when I come back," Ventress replied. "See you later Ventress, may the Force be with you," Latts said. Ventress stopped for a moment, this was the first time Latts ever used that expression to wish her luck on a mission, then returned the formality.

Mother Talzin sensed the presence of Asajj Ventress in the Force and knew she was eventually going to hinder her plans. This was something she could not allow but she wasn't sure how to avoid an inevitable encounter with Ventress, who had thought her dead when Dooku sent General Grievous and his droids to destroy her convent of Nightsisters. Perhaps when I bring the "City of Two Worlds" up from the ground, I will find a way to stop her from botching up my plans she said to herself before resuming a book she had been reading.

It was an ancient Nightsister manuscript that had contained the obsession of her life. The City of Two Worlds, as the manuscript called it, was a place said to be consumed by the earth because it acted as a gateway between the physical realm of Dathomir and the Nightsister Afterlife. It would not have interested her had there not been a passage in there that said that those who used the City to gain access to the Afterlife could be granted the power of the Ancient Nightsister Goddesses whose power was so immense that to give them names would be to burn mortals to cinders where they stood. With that kind of power, Talzin could destroy Dooku, make the Jedi kneel and grovel before her, and become Queen of the entire galaxy.

And now, Maul was returning to consult her about how to release the souls of the thought bomb and she realized she didn't know how to do that. But she remembered someone from her past who supposedly studied such arts. Someone who she had banished to Felucia long ago but now would probably be of use to her. Smiling, she used what magic she knew to prepare for the return of the Nightbrothers who served her to their dark home.

"Stay here Savage, if something goes wrong we will need a quick exit. Make sure the ship is ready to go in emergency but try not to waste too much fuel doing that," Maul said to his brother. Savage didn't mind staying on the ship and learning the controls as he had been accustomed to the detached front cockpit of the ship and Maul giving him time to learn the new one was a major help on his part. Besides, Maul needed to see Mother Talzin alone anyway so he could thank her for restoring his legs with her powerful magic.

Finding her wasn't the hard part as she was apparently waiting for his arrival when he came into the ruins of her dark temple. While walking up to her, he took the time to examine the scattered debris that lied about and noticed that the model of droids used were Trade Federation or something else he didn't recognize. He soon found out that the more bulky ones were called super battle droids and the agile looking ones were called commando droids, elite Separatist droids. "Remind me to have Savage update me about the sides involved in this war before I leave, please," Maul said to Talzin as she explained this to him.

"You have come to me with a question of importance, my son?" Talzin inquired when she saw his troubled look. "For some time, the thought of restoring the souls trapped in the thought bomb orb on planet Ruusan has crossed my mind. I want to know if you know how to undo it and utilize the Sith souls in it or if you know someone who would know?" Maul asked. Talzin paused for a moment as though she didn't know how to answer his question and whether or not that was true was something Maul couldn't decipher from her posture.

Then, after a couple minutes of silence, she answered, "I do not know how to undo it but I do know someone who has been learning the ways of the Sith for years. If any one knows how to undo it and allow you to utilize the souls trapped within it, it would be a former Nightsister named Kycina. I banished her there because she committed a serious offense against me and the clan. Perhaps she will be of use to us now that we have a need for her Sith knowledge, tell her I welcome her back in exchange for serving you two in everything you need when you find her on Felucia."

"What crime did she commit if it isn't a bother asking?" Maul inquired curiously. "Once long ago, she had a son by a Nightbrother who is no longer alive but she discovered a Force-sensitive connection within him. To save him from a lifetime of Nightbrother slavery, she gave him away to an influential human who raised him as his own. It seemed as though she wanted him to have any life other than that of a Nightbrother as all Nightbrothers are normally destined for a life of slavery and death serving us," Talzin explained.

Maul thought about that for a moment and wondered if it would explain why he had never known his own mother. He wondered if Kycina was his mother and he was the child but he reminded himself he wasn't the only Zabrak in Dathomir's history that had a connection to the Force. Savage was an example of that and the first Nightbrothers to ever exist also provided great examples of that point. Nonetheless it did spark an interest in him to find out more about the family he and Savage apparently shared between them.

"Find her home deep in the rancor-guarded jungles of Felucia and offer her a madness herb. Its five purple leaves arranged in a star (it's a type of flower) cure any affliction of madness thanks to the Force's effects on its biology," Talzin added. "But why would I need a flower that cures madness if you cured my own when you used your power to restore my legs?" Maul asked. "Nearly thirty-five years in solitude on Felucia may have driven her a little farther- over the edge- than you were driven during your years in the junk fields of Lotho Minor," Talzin answered.

Maul understood knowing how years of solitude could cloud one's mind and damage it from having firsthand experience in that aspect of life. The Dark Side did wonderful things at a terrible price and Maul's survival at the price of his sanity had been just one example. He thanked Talzin once more then made back to the cargo ship but not before asking Talzin if the Jedi had come by Dathomir in the past few weeks. "Only once and I wasn't there to greet him when he returned here due to business I had to take care of elsewhere," she said.

Maul guessed it was Obi-wan as he was the only one who would seek Maul out after nearly getting his ass handed to him. He told Savage about what Talzin had told him and asked his brother to set a course for Felucia while he reflected on what Mother Talzin had said about Kycina's tragic exile to the planet he was headed to meet her at. Maul wondered as to why it sounded parallel to the life he had had according to what Sidious told him about his beginnings as an infant. The thought only stopped hammering itself into his head when Savage asked what a rancor was as Talzin had made it sound as though they were very dangerous.

"Non-sentient carnivorous beasts that live only to kill those smaller than them for food and each other for territory and mates. The only things they fear are any species that can kill them (as humans and humanoid creatures, like ourselves, have been known to do) and a fellow rancor that is bigger than them," Maul said. "Have you fought one before, brother?" Savage asked. "Several and bringing down just one is no easy task so I want you to search for the herb while I handle any rancors we meet along the way to Kycina's home," Maul answered.

"How will we know how to find her if Mother Talzin gave us nothing to go on except that she lived on in the deeper jungles of Felucia?" Savage asked. "While non-sentient, rancors have excellent memory and if one's mind can be bent to the will of a powerful Force-user it can guide us to where we wish to go. As Nightsisters only have grey skin and we're looking for a grey-skinned human, any rancor that has seen Kycina will be the one to guide us to her," Maul answered. Savage said he would search for the herb while they were looking for Kycina and Maul was pleased with the progress of his apprentice and brother.

First Savage had learned to use the Dark Side of the Force for simple tasks. Then he had learned how to use his lightsaber in defense as well as attack. Finally, he was learning the lesson Maul wanted him to learn: obedience to an end and independence also to an end. Savage had freedom to perform the will of the Dark Side in any way he wished so long as he performed it as Maul had done for Darth Sidious, years ago.

Sidious felt a strong but familiar disturbance in the Force that awoke him from his sleep in his bedchambers on Coruscant. He was covered in a thin layer of sweat from a vision he had had about his first apprentice, Darth Maul, rising again and challenging his very power. Barely eight standard hours before, Dooku had mentioned that Savage Opress (a former acolyte of his) was searching for a brother lost in the Outer Rim. Could it be true that Maul had survived the battle on Naboo and if so, why had Maul not surfaced until now or even reported his failure to him?

Then he reminded himself that he probably would have punished Maul for his failure had the man come back and reported his failure on the Naboo mission. Still, to think that his apprentice had survived all these years and was only now resurfacing for the first time since Naboo was nearly impossible for Sidious. He warmed up his sleepy muscles with lightsaber exercises and decided to think about not how Maul could've survived but on how he would finish the job Kenobi started if Maul decided to seek him out in hatred. "I fear the worst for my plan's futures, Maul and his brother Savage may be a hindrance to my plans for the galaxy," he had said to Dooku when Maul's survival was first reported to him.

"Perhaps I can eliminate him on your behalf?" Dooku asked politely. "If it comes down to that, I will let you do it but I'm not sure if I'm one of Maul's targets. Don't go after him until we know for certain whether he seeks my blood or not," Sidious answered. Dooku nodded and bade Sidious a good day after that although he knew Sidious probably wouldn't have a good day after hearing about Maul's sudden return.

Despite initial skepticism, Asajj Ventress followed her instincts and directed herself back to her home on Dathomir. Though Dooku had destroyed the Nightsisters, she refused to give up the hope that Mother Talzin had survived the attack. It would be the only explanation for why Savage still lived and now had a brother in his little adventure. Once down on the surface of the planet, the same instincts she had followed to come here then guided her to a desolate plain unaffected by the battle her Nightsisters had with Dooku's forces; then the ground began to shake and tremble violently beneath her feet as something big was beginning to emerge fast.